Diary of an Arcade Employee

The FBI

I love watching detective shows of the past. I am not sure what draws me to them, the acting, the music, the formula? I just cannot put my finger on it. All I can tell you is that when I see one on TV, I freeze, that is what I will be watching. Many shows have had a decent second and third life in re-runs, but a show that I remember watching in reruns in the early 1980s, that I have not seen since, is the classic crime show, The FBI. If you are a fan I have good news AND GREAT NEWS first the good news, the Warner Archive released season 1 of the series a few months ago and they just now released season 2. Now the great news. The Retroist is going to give away a copy of Season 2 to a lucky follower of the site.

Before I get to the how to win, here is a little background on the show:

The Sixties were kicking into full swing as The FBI moved into its sophomore season. Agents Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., more taciturn than ever) and Rhodes (Stephen Brooks) are dispatched to the far-flung corners of the USA by Assistant Director Ward (Philip Abbott) to tackle the big ones – kidnapping, extortion, murder, espionage and terror. Produced with full government cooperation with stories drawn from the real files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The FBI set a new high mark in the depiction of law enforcement on television, giving viewers TV that was equally thrilling as it was realistic. Guest stars to be found in this 4-disc, 16-episode collection include Ralph Meeker, Robert Blake, Jack Lord, Richard Anderson, Fritz Weaver, Suzanne Pleshette and Ralph Bellamy.

Now how to win a copy of Season 2. It is easy. You just need to contact me with the following information.

NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS

Now the how to contact part
You can email me at retroist@retroist.com, you can comment below, you can DM me on Twitter, send me a message on Facebook or you can do all 4. The good news, especially for you eager gamer types, is that each way of contacting me will count as an entry, so you can have 4 entries in total (you can only win one copy though). So get clicking folks and I cannot wait to get The FBI out the door to our lucky winner.

I love watching detective shows of the past. I am not sure what draws me to them, the acting, the music, the formula? I just cannot put my finger on it. All I can tell you is that when I see one on TV, I freeze, that is what I will be watching. Many shows have had a decent second and third life in re-runs, but a show that I remember watching in reruns in the early 1980s, that I have not seen since, is the classic crime show, The FBI. Now I do not have one of those big cable or satellite packages, but I just don’t understand how this long running and influential show can continue to be off the radar of the more mainstream retro TV channels like TV Land and Retro. Not that I don’t like 4 hour blocks of Bonanza, but would it kill them to break them up with a few classics?

Sorry, I get passionate about this stuff, where was I? Oh yeah, The FBI. The FBI was a wonderful and long running show that at the time was very popular and influential (which is WHY IT BLOWS MY MIND THAT PEOPLE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT!!)…Again sorry…here is the summary of the show.

From the files of the crime-fighting agency! Drawing in large part from actual Bureau investigations, The FBI is on the case with an exciting 4-Disc Collection of Season One’s First 16 Episodes from the fondly remembered series that ran from 1965 to 1974. Agent Lewis Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) and Special Agent Jim Rhodes (Stephen Brooks) rely on real-life FBI detection techniques (and the occasional hunch) as they track lawbreakers ranging from organized crime bosses and extortionists to saboteurs and escaped convicts. Among the guest stars for this trend- and tone-setting early installments are Robert Blake, Beau Bridges, Dabney Coleman, Robert Duvall, Jack Klugman, Leslie Neilsen and Burt Reynolds.

What a show! Now I have been waiting for some sort of DVD release on this title for ever and I am finally happy to announce that the Warner Archive has decided to take a chance on this show, release the first half of season 1 of the series. I am guessing they are doing this to gauge interest in the series before they go with a full blown season release. So if you have any interest in the show and would enjoy seeing it continue to get the release love it deserves, drop by the Warner Archive and order F.B.I., The: Season One – Part 1 on DVD.